Day: May 13, 2012

Loyola University Chicago alumnus Philip Dawkins has recently announced that he is set to debut his new play, Failure: A Love Story, at Chicago Victory Gardens Theater for the upcoming 2012-2013 season. Dawksins graduated from Loyola in 2002 as a theater and math major, and his play is one of only five productions set to debut at the Chicago Victory Gardens this season.

Read the full story at Loyola University Chicago Department of Fine Arts blog Arts Alive

In some ways, Loyola Arts is like a mother goose. Yes, of course, there’s our tendency to tell heartwarming stories, but bear with me, there’s more. We also take care of our little fledglings–ready for flying but not quite sure how to stay afloat–until they’re ready to take off on their own. We take a talented group of incoming freshmen and hone their skills, expand their experience, and impart them with the confidence and independence needed to succeed. And like a mother goose, though sad to part with our pseudo-children after four years, we’re always extremely proud of their accomplishments out in the real world. While this comparison is definitely cheesy, we nonetheless think it holds true.

Philip Dawkins–a Loyola University theatre and math alum from 2002–is a fine example of a graduate who has worked hard and found success in Chicago theatre. His new play, Failure: A Love Story, will make its world premiere as a part of Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater 2012-2013 season. On stage from Nov. 16 – Dec. 30, Failure: A Love Story will be the second of five productions for the upcoming season which focuses on the search for home, often in spite of overwhelming odds against that goal.

1928 is the last year of each of the Fail Sisters’ lives. Nelly was the first of the Fail girls to die, followed soon after by her sisters Jenny June and Gerty. As with so many things in life—blunt objects, disappearances and consumption—they never saw death coming. Written by Chicago playwright Philip Dawkins, Failure: A Love Story is a magical, musical fable that traces the sisters’ triumphs and defeats, lived out in the rickety two-story building by the Chicago River that was the Fail family home and clock shop. This funny, moving and profoundly wise play reminds us that in the end, all that remains is love.